Development of photosensitiser functionalised electrospun nanofibre for microbial disinfection of waste water

To meet the increasing demand of water use in modern society and growing industrialization, wastewater treatment to reuse is the only option. Ensuring the microbiological safety of water is one of the utmost importance. However, conventional disinfection produce undesirable toxic byproducts which are difficult and costly to remove. We report on the preparation, characterisation and biological evaluation of electrospun poly (acrylic acid)/poly (vinyl alcohol) double crosslinked nanofibres functionalised with the tetra cationic photosensitiser 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis (1-methylpyridinium-4-yl) porphyrin tetra (p-toluene sulfonate) (TMPyP). This nanofibre shows highly efficient photo killing of antibiotic resistant gram (-ve) E. coli under illumination with low intensity visible light. By immobilising photosensitiser into the nanofibre this system offers toxic by-product free water. This study reports a low cost, energy efficient and eco-friendly water disinfection that will have huge socio-economic benefits to society.